1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved system and method for combining data obtained from the NEXRAD.TM. system of the National Weather Service ("NWS") with geographical and topological data base information to achieve an improved and informative graphical storm-tracking display able to predict and project the direction of a storm with a single user-operation.
2. Technical Background
NEXRAD is a system of weather services provided by the NWS. NEXRAD employs a system of radars scattered throughout the country which provides weather data to subscribers. Subscribers, such as television stations desiring to transmit weather broadcasts, use data from the NEXRAD system in its basic form. Current systems of subscribers typically extract simple storm information from the NEXRAD data to provide viewers with basic storm location information.
One NEXRAD service is the "NEXRAD Attributes." This service provides the subscribers with detailed information concerning storms detected at each NEXRAD radar site. The NEXRAD Attributes data includes the following information for each storm:
ID a unique 3-digit identifier AZ the direction of the storm in degrees from the radar source RANGE the distance of the storm in nautical miles from the radar source TVS the likelihood of a tornado vortex signature (Yes or No) MESO the likelihood of mesocyclonic activity (Yes or No) HAIL the likelihood of hail (% change of hail, % chance of severe hail, approximate hail size in inches) DBZM the maximum DBZ level (a measurement of precipitation intensity) FCST_ANGLE forecasted movement angle (storm path) in degrees FCST_MVMT forecasted movement speed in nautical miles per hour
The typical current NEXRAD system used by a NEXRAD subscriber receives NEXRAD data via a satellite downlink or over a wired network connection into a computer, such as the computer illustrated in the attached FIG. 1. Then, the current subscriber's system extracts the azimuth and range information of the subject storm. From this information, the current systems can plot a two dimensional representation of the storm. Most of the other information in the NEXRAD Attributes goes unused by current systems, although the user, typically a meteorologist, can review this data manually.
One problem with a subscriber's current system is that in order to predict the movement of a storm, the user must manually create projections from the NEXRAD Attributes data. Current systems do not have the capability to create a graphical representation of the storm movement from the NEXRAD Attributes data without substantial human involvement.
Moreover, the current graphical storm display is typically limited to simple two dimensional representations of the storm's location and little else. Typically the viewers of weather displays based on the current systems have only a vague concept of the proximity of the storm to their location. Current systems are incapable of displaying NEXRAD projection information concerning those storms in any appreciable graphical way.